Precarious, frustrated, despised: teachers too are victims of a school system that no longer works

The letter from the student at the scientific high school in Lugo was striking for its emotional honesty and the clarity with which she describes the distance between school and students . But not only her peers could identify with those words: many teachers recognized themselves in a similar suffering . On social media, the comments of those who find themselves on the other side of the desk also underline the need to rediscover the connection with their students. The world of teachers also seems to be affected by a profound malaise: a profession that was vocational has transformed into an increasingly fragile and worn-out role, often lacking the support necessary to truly function.

The teachers' point of view

Many teachers complain about an increasingly tense climate in the classrooms. Chaotic classrooms, poor motivation, and a growing difficulty in being heard. In April, Cesare Tricerri , a teacher of physical education, told Orizzonte Scuola about the difficulties of his job: "We live among ill-mannered students who are overprotected by their families."

The educational relationship seems increasingly difficult to build in a context that leaves little room for dialogue and much instead for the pressure of the program and evaluation . Teachers often find themselves alone in mediating between didactic needs, emotional needs of students, requests from families and ever-increasing bureaucratic burdens. In this scenario, even the most passionate teachers risk losing enthusiasm , overwhelmed by a system that seems to ask for more and give less and less. And it is here that the perspectives on both sides of the desk meet, even if they start from apparently opposite fronts: on one side those who would like to be trained and listened to, on the other those who try to do so but cannot find the space or recognition to succeed.

Families and Schools: An Alliance to Be Rebuilt

Another key issue is the relationship with families. Often, instead of supporting the educational work of teachers, parents take a preventive stance against their children, undermining the teacher's authority. If in the past the teacher was considered an authoritative figure, whom no one questioned, just because he had reached a certain level of education, today the perception of school is different, and the figure of the teacher is questioned much more often.

According to Education Marketing , "school-family communication today is more often a clash than a confrontation ", despite the Co-responsibility Pact that according to Italian law is signed by both families and teachers at the beginning of the school year. This creates a dynamic that prevents the construction of that " educational community " that should be the foundation of the school.

Chronic precariousness: a system that wears out teachers

Added to these daily difficulties is one of the main structural wounds of the Italian school system: chronic precariousness . A condition that undermines not only job stability, but also the quality of the educational relationship. According to a report by Tuttoscuola , in the 2023-2024 school year there were approximately 235,000 precarious teachers , a huge number that demonstrates how widespread and systemic this working condition is. For many teachers, precariousness means having to change schools every year, sometimes even during the year , with all the difficulties that this entails: from the need to adapt to new environments, colleagues and managers, to the impossibility of building a lasting and meaningful bond with students. This constant starting from scratch wears down motivation , hindering that educational continuity that students - especially the most fragile - would need instead. As Francesco Rossi explains in La via libera , "becoming a tenured teacher is today an obstacle course, between rare competitions, blocked qualifications and confusing reforms". The road is often long and tiring - and does not guarantee certain results: even those who pass the competitions can remain without a chair for months or be assigned to a province far from home. Added to this is the complexity of a fragmented qualification system, modified several times in recent years and still subject to continuous postponements and adjustments. The result is an army of teachers who are often young, passionate but disillusioned , left at the mercy of bureaucracy and uncertainty. Precariousness is not just a work issue: it is also a major educational problem , because it prevents teachers from planning long-term, from feeling an integral part of a school community, from investing in the growth of their students. In a system that struggles to guarantee stability and recognition, even teachers risk feeling lost - exactly like the high school student from Lugo in her letter. The crisis is not only for students, but also for those who sit on the other side of the desk every day. Only by recognizing both fragilities will it be possible to begin to truly rebuild a school that works.